ImportantBet
Grand Master
- Thread starter NFGx
- Start date
Bad_Hambre
Student
Great news!
I seen some youtube videos of fiber glass repair in the same method you outlined. Do you have a list for the materials you used?
There's not really much to it. I used a straight weave (90 degrees crossover) glass matt, because I knew the direction of the stress and I wanted to maximize the strength. The scramble weave is more omni-directional. I used some coarse sandpaper to rough up the inside of the cab, and then it was just resin, fibreglass, resin. Wait 2 days, sand it LIGHTLY (so you don't tear any fibres) resin fibreglass (at 45 degrees to the first layer) resin, wait 2 days, and one final layer in line with the first.
Fibreglassing is easy. It's sticky as fuck, wear nitrile gloves! And it smells awful. And sanding it puts glass fibres in the air so do it outside.
Beyond that? Nothing to it.
Bad_Hambre
Student
I ended up paying a guy to repair the crack for me. I just had too many questions and did not want to jump head into this. I'm still satisfied with the results, but much less cooler than what you did.
Yeah I can't fault you for that. I'd have probably paid someone if there was someone to pay. No one wanted to deal with me, every time I reached out to a repair shop they basically heard 'arcade machine' and ghosted me. Too weird, too much effort. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Did it come good?
Bad_Hambre
Student
I think so. The crack is gone and it feels well reinforced in those areas.
I was looking through Craigslist ads and ended up finding a guy that does it as a business. It took me a while to set up and arrange but he came thru. But yeah, I am certain that it will not be cracking in that area again.
bgwelistyl
Student
I superglued the two cracks on my Astro on each side but I Need some advise on how to approach this.
Just to note, each side has a metal plate reinforced with 2 bolts (eventually it did start to crack again).
On the right side there is a crack, but someone already applied fiber glass to it. Any ideas what I can do to reinforce it?
On the left side, no fiberglass reinforcement a deeper crack and a piece at the top was loose.
At this point the machine is in pretty pristine condition. Would Bondo/fiberglass the front be viable?
Just to note, each side has a metal plate reinforced with 2 bolts (eventually it did start to crack again).
On the right side there is a crack, but someone already applied fiber glass to it. Any ideas what I can do to reinforce it?
On the left side, no fiberglass reinforcement a deeper crack and a piece at the top was loose.
At this point the machine is in pretty pristine condition. Would Bondo/fiberglass the front be viable?
Attachments
Bondo is filler, more than adhesive. Superglue is great adhesive but it's not going to hold this together with the kind of leverage you can expect. It will certainly crack again quickly if you don't reinforce it with something structural.
The fibreglass fix I did is still holding strong on my cab, with many hours of play and complete disregard to the crack when moving the machine, etc. It appears to be a strong, permanent fix.
My advice, based on my extensive done-it-one-time experience, is: fibreglass the inside of the crack, bondo the outside holes. Sand, paint.
* and use more fibreglass than that tiny-ass coin sized patch already on your machine. Way more.
The fibreglass fix I did is still holding strong on my cab, with many hours of play and complete disregard to the crack when moving the machine, etc. It appears to be a strong, permanent fix.
My advice, based on my extensive done-it-one-time experience, is: fibreglass the inside of the crack, bondo the outside holes. Sand, paint.
* and use more fibreglass than that tiny-ass coin sized patch already on your machine. Way more.
bgwelistyl
Student
should I fiberglass over that existing patch?
I would remove it first. Better to know for sure what's going on than relying on that tiny mystery.
